Abstract
Lateral diffusion coefficient of transmembrane proteins in the plasma membrane is smaller than that in artificial membranes by a factor of 1/10-1/100. We studied the restriction mechanism of the lateral mobility of membrane proteins in the plasma membrane by using single particle tracking technique and optical tweezers. These techniques revealed that the movement of many membrane proteins is regulated from the cytoplasmic side through the interaction with the network of the membrane-skeleton/cytoskeleton. Two major ways of such interaction are corralling effect of the fence of the membrane skeleton and tethering to the cytoskeleton.
